Is India poised for a major leap in developing games in the emerging Web3 technology that promises to change the dynamics of the industry?
Gaming industry experts, participating in Blockchain Gaming Summit 2022 held at Bengaluru on Thursday, were confident that India’s enviable software talent pool had come of age for developing games just at a time when the world was at the cusp of internet technology’s evolution from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the summit, Sridhar Muppidi, a member of the India Game Developers Conference (IGDC) Council, said most of the software developers in the country had little exposure to video games in their childhood and younger days when gaming industry began taking shape about ten to twelve years ago.
“Their counterparts in the US, Europe and China had grown up playing video games and were hence better game designers than us”, he said before attributing it as one of the reason for the US and China getting a head start and dominate the world’s gaming industry. “India could not start off with that kind of talent and make use of the opportunity.”
But, the present generation of software developers had grown up playing video games. Besides, India now has an immense product leadership that will hold it in good stead, said Mr. Muppidi, who is also the co-founder of YesGnome, a Hyderabad-based mobile gaming company.
Endorsing Mr. Muppidi’s views was Rajesh Rao, who chairs IGDC Council. India could potentially become a big player in Web3 and have a larger share in the $100 billion a year gaming pie in the world when the gaming industry is poised to transition from free to play to play-to-earn ecosystem afforded by Web3.
“A mobile phone your hand today is more powerful in computing than a Playstation 10 years ago”, said Mr. Rao. The number of people playing games on the mobile had increased from 200 million about 10-12 years ago to roughly 2 billion at present.
The experts also made out a case for government policies that were friendly towards Web3. The IGDC also clarified that it supports only skill-based games and not the ones that thrive on chance.
Meanwhile, a press statement said the Blockchain Gaming Summit 2022 saw a footfall of close to 600 gaming, crypto and Web 3.0 tech enthusiasts.
Key conservations highlighted the importance of Web2 in transitioning to Web3 and the role of consumers as contributors and owners within Web3. “With a myriad opportunities lined up for the younger generations, the scope of growth and monetization was said to be at an all time high”, the statement added.
The speakers at the summit included Siddharth Menon, co-founder of WazirX and Tegro; Roby John, co-founder of Tegro and SuperGaming; and Manish Agarwal, CEO of Nazara Technologies.
